GOLF
Darkness halts playoff
Colombian Camilo Villegas, Canadian rookie Mackenzie Hughes, Sweden’s Henrik Norlander and Blayne Barber of the US were due to return to complete a playoff for the RSM Classic in Georgia yesterday as darkness halted play after two extra holes. Five players finished the regulation 72 holes tied on 17-under at Sea Island Resort, including Billy Horschel, who was eliminated after missing a short par putt on the first extra hole. Rookie Pan Cheng-tsung of Taiwan finished in a four-way tie for sixth after posting a final-round 71. He faced a longer day than even the players who had to return yesterday. Pan left after the tournament to catch a flight from Savannah to New York, then New York to Hong Kong and a connection to Melbourne, Australia, where he was due to arrive tonight to take part in the World Cup of Golf.
GOLF
Fitzpatrick wins in Dubai
England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick sank a knee-knocking birdie putt on the final hole to seal the DP World Tour Championship on Sunday in a dramatic conclusion. The US$1.33 million first prize for the season-ending tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, meant the 22-year-old from Sheffield, who carded a five-under 67 to finish on 17-under, roughly doubled the amount he had won at his other 25 events this year. Earlier, Henrik Stenson sealed the Race to Dubai title. The Swede carded a seven-under 65 to snuff out any chance of being usurped as the Order of Merit winner.
GOLF
Hull wins her first title
Britain’s Charley Hull won the LPGA Tour season-ending CME Group Tour Championship with a two-shot swing at the 17th hole on Sunday, while Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand clinched a US$1 million bonus and Player of the Year honors. Hull fired a bogey-free six-under 66 to see off playing partner Ryu So-yeon of South Korea (67) at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida, posting a tournament record 19-under 269 to claim her first LPGA Tour win. The Briton was tied with Ryu on 18-under heading to the penultimate hole where 20-year-old Hull birdied the par five, while Ryu took a bogey after having to hit out sideways from a greenside bunker. Jutanugarn, a five-time winner this season, shot 69 to finish in a tie for fourth at 14-under. Kaohsiung-born Candie Kung carded a 72 to finish tied for 55th place on two-over.
SOCCER
Larsson and son attacked
Helsingborg manager Henrik Larsson and his son, Jordan, the team’s striker, were attacked by fans after their side were relegated from the Swedish top flight on Sunday having conceded two late goals to lose a two-legged playoff against Halmstad. Jordan Larsson looked to have fired Helsingborg to safety when he scored in the 83rd minute, but a Marcus Mathisen brace in the final three minutes gave the second-tier side a 3-2 aggregate victory and saw Helsingborg drop out of the Allsvenskan. When former Celtic, Barcelona and Manchester United forward Henrik Larsson and his son went to commiserate with the home crowd, a number of fans threw chairs and flags at them, while several masked men demanded Jordan Larsson’s shirt. As the 19-year-old removed it, one of the fans appeared to strike him, provoking an angry response from father and son before stewards could intervene.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but